“In
order to get power and retain it, it is necessary to love power; but love of
power is not connected with goodness but with qualities that are the opposite
of goodness, such as pride, cunning and cruelty.”
-Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoi
I
was recently reading a book in which a humongous percentage of the Earth’s
population is killed off by a disease. As a desperate attempt to save a few
hundred survivors, they are launched into space towards a new Earth-like
planet. They soon realize however, that they have been trapped inside the solar
system by an alien force, who have deemed humans too violent, instinctive, and
dangerous to be let loose upon the rest of the universe. The aliens’ point is
made clear when one looks at the present situation in the Middle East: a few
people going to extraordinary and violent lengths to fulfill their desires for
power. This disgusts me. Perhaps the notions of freedom coming out of the
French Revolution have polluted my worldview, but I believe that Gaddafi and
other power mongers are grossly unjust. Their actions show rejection of their
humanity and surrender to the instinctive and primitive desire for power.
While
I do not believe that the present changes in the Middle East will have any
immediate impact on my life, I believe that human societies are now so
interconnected that momentous changes on one part the globe will impact every
other part as well. The rebellions against Middle Eastern dictators are a huge
step for mankind in the direction of human freedom, which I believe is
essential for the continual advancement of the human race.
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